Jewish heritage sites worth visiting in the D.C. area

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

100 Raoul Wallenberg Place SW

There is no better place in Washington, D.C. to honor those who lost their lives during the Holocaust than this museum. Since its dedication in 1993, the museum’s mission has been to confront hatred, prevent genocide, and promote human dignity.

More than 40 million visitors have visited the museum since its dedication. If unable to visit, the museum’s website is also a great resource with information on the Holocaust in 16 languages.

National Museum of American Jewish Military Museum

1811 R Street NW

Since 1958, this museum preserves the history of Jewish Americans’ contributions to the nation’s Military with exhibits, programs, and publications. There is also a collection that houses over 5,000 artifacts, most of which date back to WWII.

On the museum’s website, visitors can also access stories. One video series included in these stories focuses on American Jewish GIs who liberated concentration camps in the Holocaust.

Lillian & Albert Small Jewish Museum

Address still in flux.

Currently, there’s no way to visit this museum since it’s on the move, but it’s worth mentioning on this list in order to keep the public aware of Washington, D.C.’s oldest synagogue.

The 1876-built property, known as the Adas Israel Synagogue, houses the Lillian and Albert Small Jewish Museum, a museum whose goal is to be a destination and source for American Jewish history. The museum first opened to the public in 1975. It likely won’t open again to the public for another 30 or so months.

Jewish Study Center

5505 Connecticut Avenue NW

If interested in learning further about Jewish history through classes, programs, and a membership, there’s no better place to go in D.C. than the Jewish Study Center.

The Study Center offers three semesters of courses per year with topics that include arts and culture, ethics, history, and philosophy.

Arlington National Cemetery

Visiting a cemetery might not seem super exciting, but it’s worth venturing if interested in paying respects to prominent Jewish figures who fought in the Civil War, WWI, WWII, or were NASA astronauts.

To see a list of all of the cemetery’s renowned Jewish figures, go to the Arlington National Cemetery website here.

Was there a notable Jewish heritage site left off this list? Let Curbed know in the comments or email the tipline.